B’desh Embassy helps the displaced in Makharqa fire

Bangladesh Embassy yesterday distributed cash, blankets, mattresses, bed sheets, foodstuff and other necessary items to the survivors of fire incident in Makharqa in a small ceremony held on the embassy premises.

Speaking to DT News, Bangladesh Embassy Counsellor Mohammad Mohidul Islam said he was grateful to the community members in Bahrain, whose collective efforts made it possible.

He also thanked affluent members of other communities, who extended help on the occasion. 

A fire erupted in Makharqa on Thursday night, in which 18 Bangladeshi nationals were displaced. The two men, who jumped out of a window to escape sustained fractures and were treated at Salmaniya Medical Complex. There were no fatalities in the incident.

Earlier, the Migrants Workers Protection Society (MWPS) met the victims and distributed to them emergency packs, blankets and socks. MPWS is planning to meet them again to provide dry rations, mattresses and possibly mobile phones from an anonymous donor.

MWPS Chairperson, Marietta Dias said they looked forward to tougher practical measures to ensure that safe housing was made available to the migrants.

She said the migrant workers were playing an important role in the development of Bahrain and they must be treated well.  

“Such measures exist to benefit both landlords and tenants. Migrants form an integral part of the global economy and like all of us, they deserve adequate living standards,” said Dias.

She questioned if anyone will ever be held accountable for profiting from the dangerous dilapidated housing, which too often doesn’t meet even the most basic landlord duties – that of habitability.